Taylor Family Christmas

We were so lucky to still be in town for the Taylor family Christmas party.  Everyone was kind enough to have it a few days before Christmas Eve so that James and I could be there before we head to CA.  When all the grandkids were younger, they would always act out the live nativity.  I guess that hasn't been done for a few years now that almost everyone is a teenager.  James' parents really wanted to do it again now that we have little Scarlett.  That meant that we all were involved!

James was a donkey so I made him a pair of ears.  Haha!

Have you ever seen a cuter little lamb?

Angel

The inn keeper

Mary and Joseph

A shepherd and his little lamb

The three wisemen and the inn keeper

The whole cast

It was a lot of fun!  I hope we continue on the tradition so our little chitlins can participate and make all those fun memories.

Kicking Off December

December has been busy like it always is.  The first weekend of December Tricia threw a surprise birthday party for Preston.  He was so dumbfounded when he walked into the house and saw all sorts of different friends from all different parts of his life (school friends, soccer friends, and us).  It was funny.  This picture cracks me up...don't want to light that beautiful beard on fire!

Then last weekend was our ward Christmas party.  James and I were asked by our bishopric to be in charge of it this year.  It was interesting.  We were given a few people's name who were our "committee".  None of those people ever returned our calls, so James and I did it all by ourselves.  For those of you who know me best, you know that party and event planning is right up at the top of the list of my least favorite things.  I think I only had 2 crying breakdowns about this event.  It turned out great and everyone had a great time.

That's our awesome bishop with the microphone.  He's younger than James and I!

We also purchased a real tree this year.  It was lovely to come home to a pine-filled house!  I just love this of year so very much!

And this is how we announced our little bun in the oven to the Facebook world.  We can't wait to meet this little mystery boy!

Our New House

I finally feel like our house is put together enough to document our new abode and let people see where we live now.  We love it and it is perfect for us right now with plenty of room to add a little bambino in a few months.

Our front door and porch.

The view straight into the house from our front door.  First door on the right is the door to the garage.  The door straight ahead is a coat closet, and the door you kind of see on the left back wall is the door to the half bathroom.

The view from the front door to the left.  The cabinets that the TV is on are built in.  We love them!  So much storage!  Straight ahead you can see the door out to the backyard and the corner of the kitchen.

Sorry this is a little dark, but this is looking straight toward the back yard.  Our kitchen table looks so small in that big space!  Someday we will get a bigger table.

Looking from the kitchen table.  The front door is on the right up there.  The window treatments all came with the house and match our furniture quite nicely!

The view from the kitchen table into the kitchen.  We love all the cabinets and storage!  The fridge came with the house and we love it.  On the right, there is a little desk area that we don't have a chair for yet.  To the right of the fridge, there is a hallway down toward the half bath and garage.

This is standing in the kitchen looking into the dining area.

The kitchen from the hallway mentioned above.

And the little desk area I mentioned and the hallway.  The door on the right is to our pantry (pictured next).  The doors on the left are to the washer and dryer.  The next door on the left is the half bath, and then the coat closet.  Straight ahead is the door to the garage.

The pantry.  The shelves came with the house.  What a great way to use the space under the stairs!  Truly a life saver!

Half bath.

Two car garage-yippee! 

Looking from the garage door back toward the house.  The storage shelves came with the house.  Love!  And you can see the stairs through the door.

The stairs (clearly).  We love the carpet!  It's only a year old and is way nice!

Right at the top of the stairs if you turn left is my office area.  Excuse the mess!  It has been the lowest priority.  I love, love, love this space.  It is absolutely perfect for my working from home!  And again, more storage!

At the top of the stair looking back toward the second bathroom and the larger of the two bedrooms.

Second bathroom.

The second bedroom.  We call it the blue room.  This the furniture that Amy and I had in our room growing up and the furniture my mom used growing up as well.

Looking from the door of the blue room past the office area and into the third bedroom on the left and the master bedroom on the right.

This will be the baby's room.  We are hoping it won't be too crowded with a crib in there too so we can keep the twin bed.

The master bedroom looking in from the door.

The master looking from the bed.

The master bathroom.  First on the left is the sink area, then the shower/tub, then a door to the toilet, and our nice walk-in closet at the end.

Excuse the dirty mirrors...slightly embarrassing.

This picture doesn't do the closet justice, but there is much room!  We love it!

So that's house!  I didn't take a picture of the backyard because it is atrocious.  Right now it is all gravel and overgrown.  We literally have done nothing with it since moving it.  Next spring!  Our neighbors are quiet and we love our ward!  Come and visit...you can sleep in the blue room!